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Solution Deposition of High-Quality AgBiS2 Thin-Films via a Binary Diamine-Dithiol Solvent System
  • Mehri Ghasemi 1, 2, *,   
  • Dongxu He 2,   
  • Baohua Jia 1, *,   
  • Xiaoming Wen 1, *

Received: 18 Feb 2025 | Revised: 08 Apr 2025 | Accepted: 10 Apr 2025 | Published: 21 Apr 2025

Abstract

Lead halide perovskites suffer from toxicity and instability challenges due to their sensitivity to various environmental factors, such as humidity, heat and prolonged light illumination. Developing stable and lead-free alternatives that can still be solution-processed has attracted significant research interests in the past years. Bismuth-based chalcogenide materials have emerged as one promising candidate. In particular, silver bismuth disulfide (AgBiS2) has garnered increasing interest due to its high absorption coefficient (105–103 cm−1 in the 400–1100 nm range) and a favourable bandgap of ~1.3 eV. However, the poor solubility of AgBiS2 precursors in the conventional solvents has hindered the solution fabrication of high-quality thin-films. While previous studies have explored deposition techniques such as spray pyrolysis, hot-injection synthesis with ligand exchange, and nanocrystal ink-based in situ passivation, these methods often involve complex ligand engineering, high processing costs, or challenges in achieving uniform and compact thin-film. In this work, we introduce a novel solution-based spin-coating approach for the deposition of high-quality, phase-pure AgBiS2 thin-films, overcoming the solubility limitations of conventional precursors. By employing a binary chelating solvent mixture of ethylenediamine and 1,2-ethanedithiol, we achieve bidentate coordination with metal cations, enabling the dissolution of Ag2S and Bi2S3 through a chelation-assisted mechanism. This facilitates the formation of compact and uniform films with precise roughness control. This method eliminates the need for high-temperature processing or vacuum-assisted crystallization, significantly enhancing scalability and cost-effectiveness. A planar heterojunction device architecture incorporating TiO2 as the electron transport layer (FTO/c-TiO2/AgBiS2/P3HT/Au) is demonstrated with the initial power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.62%, offering an effective charge extraction pathway. With further passivation and doping optimizations, this approach presents a new, scalable route for solution-processed AgBiS2 thin-films, providing a promising alternative to ligand-engineered nanocrystal-based methods with potential advantages in stability, reproducibility, and manufacturing compatibility.

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DOI
10.53941/matsus.2025.100008
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Volume 1, Issue 2
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Ghasemi, M.; He, D.; Jia, B.; Wen, X. Solution Deposition of High-Quality AgBiS2 Thin-Films via a Binary Diamine-Dithiol Solvent System. Materials and Sustainability 2025, 1 (2), 8. https://doi.org/10.53941/matsus.2025.100008.
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